Eversheds beats rivals to Centrica outsourcing

Eversheds beats rivals to Centrica outsourcing" />Eversheds has beaten fellow Centrica panel firms Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, Herbert Smith and Linklaters to complete an important offshore outsourcing deal for subsidiary British Gas.

Leeds-based partner Jonathan Guest is acting for Centrica as it offshores some of British Gas's back office services to the cities of Puna and Noida in India.

Unlike other panel firms such as A&O, Herbert Smith and Linklaters, Eversheds is not known for its outsourcing practice, but the Centrica deal is the sixth offshore outsourcing transaction Guest has completed during the past two years, and he is currently working on another.

Eversheds won its place on the Centrica panel of advisers in 2003 and has since carried out a variety of deals for the company, including one other outsourcing.

The current deal sees British Gas, a division of Centrica, offshore back office functions, including billing for 18 million customers, to outsourcing company EXL. The value of the transaction is undisclosed.

Guest said: "There's a move away from call centres to back office functions. This is a major step forward in the utilities industry for an outsourc-ing of this sort to take place."

Eversheds worked closely with British Gas in-house counsel Lindsay Taylor on the deal.